Month: August 2017

Roses! Everybody loves them, but they can be such a fickle flower in the garden. Here are a few tips on a the spectacular, easy care, cold-hardy rose shrub variety “Campfire”.

Campfire Rose is a First Editions shrub rose for zone 3 to 7, making it a hardy option for Northern gardeners. Growing 3 ft wide by 3ft tall, this shrub features a compact habitat that fits easily in with new gardens or into well-established landscape. 

The flower buds emerge with vibrant, coral reds and yellow swirls. As the flower opens, it blooms with dark pink edges and pale pink petals. As a repeat bloomer, this shrub flowers from early summer until frost. With regular pruning in the early spring to keep your rose shapely, and with consistent dead-heading, this disease resistant shrub will be the highlight of your garden! (These are NOT deer-resistant shrubs! If you are concerned about deer damage, we recommend an easy-to-apply, deer-resistant product called “Deer Scram” available in our garden center.)

We have a new shipment of Campfire Rose in stock! Stop in to pick yours up today, and mention this blog to receive $5 off your purchase!

Here is a quick photo-guide to deadheading:

Step 1. Recognize new flowers

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2. Recognize old flowers

 

 

 

 

 

Step 3. Prune old flower clusters back to where new growth begins, or to the first set of 5-leaf stems. (The image below shows new flower buds, however, it is the 5-leaf stem you will look for when dead-heading)

 

 

Today’s topic of conversation is one we hear all too many times in the garden center and out in the field: “No-Maintenance” Landscaping!

People are always saying: “I want a no-maintenance garden. What can I do?”

 We feel most  garden designs have been based on principles of beauty rather than control. As a result,  gardens can become tangled nightmares.  Which is why people turned to the theory of “no” maintenance. The idea of “no-maintenance” is unrealistic. Instead, we believe in “know-maintenance” landscaping and “low-maintenance” plants.

We like to think the more you “know” about the maintenance of your garden, there will be “no” more tangled nightmares.  Every plant needs a bit of care to keep it strong, healthy, and looking good. Knowing when your perennials and shrubs require a haircut will help keep your gardens looking clean and manicured.

We offer a huge selection of “low-maintenance” perennials and shrubs. Easy care plants include ornamental grasses, daylilies, black-eyed susan, echinacea, ferns, astilbe, goatsbeard, ligularia, and snakeroot. “Low-maintenance” shrubs include spirea, ninebark, burning bush, hydrangea, and lilacs. Again, every plant and shrub in landscaping requires a certain amount of care in order to grow. However, pruning these plants once a year ensures healthy growth, beautiful blooms, and a maintained look. Remember to “Know” when to prune prior to cutting!

If weeds are an issue in your landscaping, add a thick layer of mulch to your beds every year, or every other year, for weed suppression and moisture-retention. Leaves or wood mulch are great options!

Finally, one sure way to have a “no” maintenance garden is to hire our enhancement crew throughout the season to keep it untangled. We do the work so you don’t have to! Give us a call at 715-485-3131 or visit us at our garden center to discuss your plant and landscaping needs!

  

 

 

Have you heard of “Sem Ash Leaf Spirea?” This beautiful, fern-like deciduous shrub is great for full-sun to part-shade locations. It is a “Must-Have!” featuring multicolored foliage of pinkish-red, orange, and green with showy creamy-white plumes appearing in July and August that attract songbirds and butterflies.

This variety grows 3-4 ft tall and makes a great naturalizing shrub for hillsides, slopes, hedges, or foundation planting. With it’s variegated foliage and beautiful plumes, use this shrub as an accent plant in your perennial garden for added interest, texture, and color.

“Sem” is deer-resistant and cold-tolerant (zone 3 to 7). Prune this shrub annually in the early spring, and remove root suckers to control size and spread.

The “Sem Ash Leaf Spirea” is blooming on the bench right now, so stop in if you need to add late-summer interest to your gardens.